Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious document could make vulnerable Adobe Acrobat Reader DC run attacker-controlled code as the signed-in user. The attack requires someone to open the crafted file, so exposure is tied to user workstations and document-handling workflows.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority workstation remediation issue, especially for teams receiving external documents. It is not described as wormable or actively exploited in the provided evidence, but user-assisted code execution creates material business risk.
Technical view
CVE-2022-28243 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Acrobat Reader DC file parsing. A crafted file can trigger a read past an allocated memory structure and may lead to remote code execution in the current user context. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 high.
Likely exposure
Organizations are likely exposed where Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions 22.001.2011x or earlier, 20.005.3033x or earlier, or 17.012.3022x or earlier are installed and users open untrusted files.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious file. Impact is high because successful exploitation can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability under the current user account.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Adobe advisory reference. Do not assume exploitation in the wild, additional affected products, or exact fixed versions from this bundle alone. Validate against APSB22-16 before closing remediation.
Mitigation direction
- Check Adobe APSB22-16 for vendor-approved update guidance.
- Prioritize remediation on workstations handling external PDFs or email attachments.
- Reduce exposure by discouraging opening unexpected or untrusted documents.
- Use endpoint and email controls to inspect or block suspicious attachments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions across endpoints.
- Flag versions at or below 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, or 17.012.3022x.
- Confirm whether affected users routinely receive external documents.
- Check vulnerability scanner findings against the CVE and Adobe advisory.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-28243 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9adobeVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb22-16.htmlCVE reference, adobe · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.